More classist bullshit from the green movement

This whole fucking article screams “noble savage stereotype.” I can just picture poor women in some sort of Rosie the Riveter pose saying “We can stop climate change from harming out way of life!” Adams even describes poor women as “the ones who sacrifice their nutrition for the benefit of their children and family,” which brings to mind some ideal woman in “traditional” garb slowly and solemnly starving herself in order to save her children and other family members. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, I’m just pointing out that she’s glorifying and simplifying people like they’re something other than human. The images she paints are more than likely completely incorrect. You don’t see crying Indians moping about reservations.

But beyond that, this is another case of “let’s throw money at it,” which never seems to work quite right. Sometimes the money gets there, sometimes it gets waylaid somewhere along the line. And if we’re going to throw money at something, shall we try throwing money at fixing the problem instead of just bandaging it? Mangroves aren’t going to help much if we here in the “developed nations” don’t get off our asses. But I guess it’s easier to throw money at the “grateful” poor people in the developing world than it is to try to solve the issues here in our own.

And the US “missed the boat?” Bitch, we didn’t get on board at Copenhagen, either. That isn’t missing the boat, it’s standing on shore waving and saying “Bon Voyage!” We just ain’t getting on. Get used to it. We won’t get on next year, either. Quit acting surprised.

I love the plug for “Sisters on the Planet.” Nice New Agey name, that. In fact, I highly suspect this whole article was just a giant fucking buttplug for whatever this organization is. We gotta help them poor people! ‘Cause they can’t help themselves! Don’t worry about nipping this shit in the bud, we’re going to help the poor people! Don’t worry about riding your bike, just send your cash! You can donate, or you can also donate!

You know what, I’ve got an idea. Instead of planting fucking mangroves and shit, let’s use the money to make sure everyone has reliable access to clean running water. Let’s educate people, including those in the supposedly “developed nations,” about AIDS. Great, Oxfam has a microfinance arm. Well, in my never-very-humble opinion, let Kiva handle the microfinance…they seem to have it under control. Pick an arena, fight your battle, and don’t stretch yourself too damn thin.

Sure, global warming, if it exists and if it’s anthropogenic and if we decide to do something about it, will affect all of us, and the people in these countries the hardest. But that’s no excuse for being condescending. And it’s no excuse to blatantly ignore the bigger issue because it’s more difficult in order to tackle an easier one that ultimately is only a stopgap measure.